Topic: Nintendo ds's Wi-Fi ability question PLEASE ANSWER

[Hooboo]

As we all know that ds has wi-fi right?
But i was wondering is it A, B or G?

[VideoGamerJ]

To my knowledge it can do all of them, which must mean it's G...or beyond.

[UniversalJuan]

Short and sweet response. DS is 802.11b. So all of you wireless router people who want to be ready for when DS goes online sometime next year, you can damn near count on this, or possibly, and boy do I mean possibly, late this year? You want a router that is either 802.11b or g. (Preferrably G since it's fully backwards compatible with b and a if memory serves me correctly)

[God Speaks]

b and g are compatible. a is definitely not compatible with b or g as it runs on a different frequency.

[UniversalJuan]

Thanks for clearing me up there. I knew for a fact that most G is backward compatible with b but it was a I wasn't 100% certain on.

[Hooboo]

Thanx for the info but i heard that ds already has wi-fi so i dont think its going on next year.

[UniversalJuan]

By next year I mean when there's actually a game that goes noline (Online for those who didn't see/hear Nintendo's E3 Conference)

[Strell]

If DS is 802.11b,

then get a router that is b, g, or both.  G and B operate on 2.4 ghz frequency.  G is merely a faster version of B (54 mbs instead of 11 mbs), so they are interchangeable.  A G device coudln't work on a B-only network, though.

A operates at a higher frequency (5.8 ghz I believe) and thus would not be compatible with DS.  Nor would a G router be compatible with anything operating on an A network.

So short and sweet: Get 802.11b/g network.  G is backwards compatible, B only is fine, A will not work.  This also means that wireless hotspots - Starbucks, Kinkos, etc - should all be able to be accessible through a DS (since most computers use B/G networks, public wireless networks are almost always B or G).  I assume it won't be long that someone will offer internet browsers for use with the DS since you can get free access through those areas.  Hell, I wonder if Nintendo can upgrade Pictochat to use a feature like that.  Would be nice.

Also since I'm sure this will come up a LOT to Nintendo's tech support line (see comment below), if you are dropping connection a lot, see if you have cordless phones that operate at 2.4 ghz.  They are known to cause problems and interrupt wireless connections (not always, but most of the time).  And wireless routers only send signals so far, so make sure you are in range (usually 30 feet or less, depending on if you are going through walls, etc).  It's not magically going to let you connect anywhere.

Bottomline: Get a B or G router.  And for God's sake, make sure the thing is set up correct before you call into Nintendo to whine about crappy reception.  Speak with Netgear/D-Link/etc first!  It makes it easier for all of us!

(I do tech support for a laptop brand and get wireless questions all the time, pretty sure I'm correct here.  Plus I'm trying to make you guys smarter consumers and users  My job would be a lot easier if people didn't call me and wonder why they can't connect to their wireless network in New York when they are in Florida.....)